Illumination chopper

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an illumination chopper which allows a user to operate on the nucleus of a crystalline lens with a small piece while securing visibility through a chopper which is mounted at one end of an illuminator to form a predetermined angle with the illuminator.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of Ser. No. 17/122,241 filed on Dec.15, 2020, which is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/901,131 filed on Dec. 28, 2015, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.10,898,380, which is National Stage Entry of PCT/KR2014/009466 filed onOct. 8, 2014, which claims priority to Korean Application No.10-2013-0120806 filed on Oct. 10, 2013. The aforementioned applicationsare herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an illumination chopper, and moreparticularly to an illumination chopper in which a nucleus of a lens isoperated into small pieces while visibility is secured through a choppermounted on one end of an illuminator to form a predetermined angle withrespect to an illuminator.

BACKGROUND ART

In the medical field, an illuminator is generally mainly used whenretinal surgery is conducted, and a chopper is used when cataractsurgery is conducted.

Here, an illuminator or a chopper is used separately according to thesurgery, and in the process of the surgery, the operator conducts thesurgery while gripping the illuminator or the chopper for surgery in onehand and gripping an illumination device or an auxiliary tool forsecuring the field of view in the other hand.

That is, because the operator conducts surgery while gripping surgerytools in both hands in the above-mentioned surgery method, excessiveforce is applied to the hands of the operator, causing pain anddeteriorating the accuracy of the surgery as well when the surgery isconducted for a long time.

In addition, because an illumination device emits light to the diseasedpart of the patient from the outside, efficiency is degraded as comparedwith the emitted light.

SUMMARY

Therefore, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve theabove-mentioned problems, and provides an illumination chopper thatseparates the nucleus of a lens into small pieces while improvingvisibility through a coupling structure of a chopper that is mounted onone end of an illuminator in which an optical fiber is arranged at oneend of the illuminator to form a predetermined angle with respect to theilluminator.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an illumination chopperaccording to the present invention includes: an illuminator that emitslight; a chopper that is mounted on one end of the illuminator to form apredetermined angle with respect to the illuminator; and a grip partthat surrounds the illuminator. Visibility is changed according to thepredetermined angle formed by the illuminator and the chopper.

Preferably, the illuminator includes: a body having a body hole throughwhich light passes; and an optical fiber that is situated inside thebody, and which emits the light towards one end of the body.

Preferably, the illumination chopper includes: a power supply forsupplying electric power to the optical fiber; and a power connectionpart that electrically connects the optical fiber and the power supply.

Preferably, when the predetermined angle is an acute angle, the lightemitted from the illuminator illuminates a front side of theilluminator.

Preferably, when the predetermined angle is an obtuse angle, the lightemitted from the illuminator is refracted by the chopper to illuminate aperiphery of the chopper.

As described above, according to the present invention, surgery thatseparates the nucleus of a lens into small pieces through a chopperwhile improving visibility by emitting light from the interior of aneyeball can be performed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view from one side, which illustrates anillumination chopper according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a front view from one side, which illustrates the illuminatorof FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view from one side, which illustrates anillumination chopper according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a front view from one side, which illustrates the illuminatorof FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Elements of an illumination chopper according to the present inventionmay be used integrally or separately if necessary. Further, someelements may be omitted according to usage.

Preferred embodiments of the illumination chopper 100 according to thepresent invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. Inthe process, the thicknesses of the lines of the drawings or the sizesof the elements may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience ofdescription. Further, the following terms are terms that are defined inconsideration of their functions in the present invention, and may varydepending on an intention or customs of the user or the manager.Therefore, the definition of the terms should be made based on theoverall contents of the specification.

First Embodiment

Hereinafter, an illumination chopper 100 according to a first embodimentof the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and2.

The illumination chopper 100 according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention includes an illuminator 110 that emits light, achopper 120 that is mounted on one end of the illuminator 110 to form apredetermined angle with the illuminator 110, a grip part 130 thatsurrounds the illuminator 110, a power supply 140 that is electricallyconnected the illuminator 110, and a power connection part 150 thatelectrically connects the illuminator 110 and the power supply 140.

The illuminator 110 includes a body 111, a body hole 112, and opticalfibers 113.

The body 111 is a kind of a tool that is generally used when cataractsurgery is conducted, and has the form of a hollow tube. The body 111includes the body hole 112 through which light passes, and a pluralityof optical fibers 113 for emitting light to the outside are situated inthe interior of the body 111.

The body hole 112 is a hole situated inside the body 111, and theplurality of optical fibers 113 are situated in the body hole 112.

The optical fibers 113 are situated in the interior of the body 111, andlight is emitted towards one end of the body 111.

The chopper 120 is mounted on one end of the illuminator 110 and isarranged to form a predetermined angle with the illuminator 110.

In more detail, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the chopper 120 may bearranged so as not to block light emitted from the optical fibers 113.

That is, in the first embodiment of the present invention, thepredetermined angle is an acute angle, and the light emitted from theilluminator 110 illuminates the front side of the illuminator 110.

The coupling structure allows the operator to emit light into an eyeballby using the illuminator 110 to improve visibility, and to conductcataract surgery with the chopper 120 at the same time.

It is preferable that the grip part 130 is formed to surround theilluminator 110 and is formed of a resilient material. The grip part 130helps the operator conduct cataract surgery or the like while theoperator grips the grip part 130 with one hand thereof.

The power supply 140 is a unit for supplying electric power to theoptical fibers 113, and is electrically connected to the powerconnection part 150. The power supply 140 may be any unit that cansupply electric power.

The power connection part 150 is an electric wire that electricallyconnects the optical fibers 113 and the power supply 140.

Second Embodiment

Hereinafter, an illumination chopper 100′ according to a secondembodiment of the present invention will be described with reference toFIGS. 3 and 4, in which all the elements except for the chopper 120′ arethe same as those of the first embodiment and will be described withreference to the second embodiment of the present invention.

The illumination chopper 100′ according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention includes an illuminator 110′ that emits light, achopper 120′ that is mounted on one end of the illuminator 110′ to forma predetermined angle with respect to the illuminator 110′, a grip part130′ that surrounds the illuminator 110′, a power supply 140′ that iselectrically connected the illuminator 110′, and a power connection part150′ that electrically connects the illuminator 110′ and the powersupply 140′.

The chopper 120′ is mounted on one end of the illuminator 110′ and isarranged to form a predetermined angle with respect to the illuminator110′.

That is, in the second embodiment of the present invention, thepredetermined angle is an obtuse angle, and the light emitted from theilluminator 110′ is refracted by the chopper 120′ to illuminate aperiphery of the chopper 120′.

In more detail, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the chopper 120′ is configuredsuch that the light emitted from the optical fibers 113′ is refracted bythe chopper 120′ so that the field of view around the chopper 120′ issecured.

The coupling structure allows the operator to emit light into an eyeballby using the illuminator 110′ to improve visibility, and to conductcataract surgery with the chopper 120′ at the same time.

Here, the choppers 120 and 120′ according to the first and secondembodiments of the present invention are somewhat different in thecoupling relationships with the illuminators 110 and 110′, and it isapparent that the structure may be fixed after being variably adjustedto provide the operator with convenience during cataract surgery.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to thepreferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be understoodthat the present invention may be variously corrected and modified bythose skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains withoutdeparting from the spirit and area described in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of chopping a nucleus of crystallinelens of an eyeball into small pieces during eye surgery, the methodcomprising: inserting an illumination chopper into an eyeball, whereinthe illumination chopper includes: an illuminator that is configured toemit light from an interior part of an anterior segment of the eyeballand a chopper that is fixedly mounted to the illuminator and extendsdownward substantially below a bottom side of the illuminator, therebyforming a chopping tip; and chopping a nucleus of crystalline lens ofthe eyeball into small pieces by using the chopping tip.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the illuminator and the chopper are integrallyformed.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the illumination chopperfurther comprises a grip part that surrounds at least a portion of theilluminator.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the illuminator, thechopper, and the grip part are integrally formed.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein the chopper tip is rounded and blunt.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein the light is emitted via an optical fiber provided in thebody of the illuminator.